according to the comments, these plants tend to grow on the outer edges of trees (twigs, stems, etc.) and reproduce extremely quickly in nature, which accounts for the fact that they're already blooming before the leaves could drop. in cultivation, apparently, they have a much longer lifespan.
it would be really cool if they could do tests on these... i wonder if maybe their roots could detect when the plant is about to drop its leaves (abscisic acid/ethylene) and bloom right before to ensure maximum plant size (and flower count) during blooming.
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